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A recent survey found that U.S. employees spend an average of 13 hours during the workweek and 6.2 hours over the weekend worrying about their boss says or does. Together that adds up to 19.2 hour a week of lament over bad boss woes.

And while the infographic below takes a somewhat humorous look at “bad boss scenarios,” having a bad boss is no laughing matter. If you are experiencing discrimination or harassment in the workplace, don’t rule out your legal options. If you are in California and are in need of an experienced employment law attorney, visit http://www.employeerightslaw.com to learn more about your options.

More and more women in America are taking control over their futures and opening small businesses, businesses which by the way account for more than 99 percent of employers in the U.S. Statistics show that female ownership in small business has seen an increased of more than 20 percent between 2002 and 2007. These and other interesting statistics on women in business can be found in the following infographic published by from Bolt Insurance Agency.

Many business owners are completely unaware of the differences between LLCs and corporations in California. Although they are virtually the same from a liability protection standpoint, both are extremely different from a tax standpoint. While a lawyer and/or CPA can help you evaluate the pros and cons between the two, in the meantime check out the following infographic from eMinutes provides some basic guidelines.

In 2011, Governor Brown signed SB 299, which requires employers to continue health insurance coverage for women who take pregnancy leave. This new law:

applies to all employers in California with at least 5 employees, regardless of the employee’s length of service, or full- or part-time status.

provides that health benefits must be continued on the same terms for up to 4 months of leave for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

took effect January 1, 2012.

Effect on Low-Wage Workers
Faced with paying out-of-pocket costs for medical care during pregnancy leave, many women were forced to delay or shorten their leave rather than lose medical benefits. Because of this new law, women will no longer have to choose between pregnancy leave and health coverage.

Health coverage during pregnancy leave is essential to the health and economic security of women and their families. Three quarters of women entering today’s workforce will become pregnant at least once while employed, and they will generally remain in the workforce following childbirth.

Women who have been denied continued health insurance benefits during pregnancy leave can file a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year of the violation.

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel today announced she is adding another tool in her arsenal to combat fraud and eliminate waste and inefficiency. The City’s Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline can accommodate whistleblower tips in more than 150 languages. This feature is being promoted following reports of bribery and misconduct in the City’s Housing department that had initially gone undetected because a rogue city employee was preying on victims who primarily spoke Korean.

“Whistleblowers need a place to go and be heard so that their concerns do not fall by the wayside,” said Greuel.“It is our responsibility to the taxpayers of this city that Los Angeles conducts its business with the utmost integrity and transparency. Having a multi-lingual hotline sends a message that we are serious about investigating credible tips and rooting out fraud, waste and abuse.”

This announcement falls on the heels of Greuel’s efforts to strengthen a City ordinance requiring departments to report any and all instances of waste, fraud and abuse and recent efforts to evaluate how successful City departments have been in implementing audit recommendations.

The Waste, Fraud and Abuse Hotline is accessible in scores of languages including: Armenian, Arabic, Cantonese, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Taiwanese and Vietnamese to name a few. The hotline can be accessed by dialing (866) 428-1514. A list of all languages the hotline can accommodate can be found here.

Controller Greuel has conducted more than 40 audits and uncovered nearly $100 million that the City has lost to waste, fraud, and abuse over the last two years. For more information, log on to the Website of Los Angeles Controller Wendy Greuel:http://controller.lacity.org/.

Sutherland Global Services Ltd. has settled a class-action lawsuit alleging it didn’t pay its call center telemarketers the overtime they were owed.

The lawsuit, filed in 2005 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, was brought by a pair of Rochester employees of the Perinton-based business process outsourcing company.

The suit eventually grew to 10 named employees and hundreds of unnamed workers, who claimed they regularly worked more than 40 hours a week but were not paid overtime.

Sutherland denied the allegations. But the company agreed in July to a $4 million settlement to be divided among members of the class. Under the settlement, Sutherland did not admit any violation of law.

U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer last week gave final approval to the settlement, ending the litigation.

10-6-2011
SACRAMENTO - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed four bills to
protect pregnant women and new mothers. The bills ensure maternity
services are covered by health insurers and new mothers can no longer
lose their health insurance as a result of taking maternity leave.
"Healthy mothers mean healthy babies. I want the next generation of
Californians to get the best possible start in life. The bills I
signed today require that insurance companies cover maternity
services for pregnant women," said Governor Brown," and ensures
that mothers who take maternity leave no longer have to fear losing
their medical coverage."
The following bills have been signed by Governor Brown:
SB 222 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and AB 210 by
Assemblymember Roger Hernandez (D-Baldwin Park) - Together, these
bills require that every individual and group health insurance
policy must provide coverage for maternity services.
SB 299 by Senator Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) - This bill
prohibits employers from refusing to maintain and pay for
coverage under group health plans for women who take
maternity leave.
Governor Brown also signed SB 502 by Senator Fran Pavley
(D-Agoura Hills), the Hospital Infant Feeding Act. This bill
will help hospitals promote breast feeding. This bill will
help hospitals promote breast feeding.